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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28188231">Bloody Playing Cards</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/yeeterskeeter/pseuds/yeeterskeeter'>yeeterskeeter</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, Dangan Ronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Attempted Murder, Celesgiri - Freeform, Enemies to Lovers, F/F, Gambling, Lesbian Celestia Ludenberg, Lesbians, Might be slow to update, OOC?, On Hiatus, Slow Burn, Updating tags as I go, Witches, bc yknow, its not enemies to lovers unless they try to kill eachother, naegi and kirigiri friendship, no beta im not a coward</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-12-20</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-12-24</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-10 21:49:17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Not Rated</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>5,234</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28188231</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/yeeterskeeter/pseuds/yeeterskeeter</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Witches were to be killed. It was in the rules after the war.</p><p>Celestia Ludenberg is a witch known for gambling outrageously, and Kyoko Kirigiri is the detective assigned to finally bring Celestia's head back to Future Foundation. </p><p>Unfortunately for Kirigiri, her target is extremely cunning and very pretty.</p><p>ON HIATUS</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Kirigiri Kyoko/Celestia Ludenberg, Minor or Background Relationship(s)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>5</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>50</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Celestia's Case</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em>
    <span>‘Witches’, </span>
  </em>
  <span>Kirigiri thought to herself as she stood on the remains of the smoldering building. Witches were the cause of all her problems as of late, including being the reason she wore gloves. She crouched down to inspect small traces of Medeis, a powder like substance left behind from large scale magic. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hey, Kirigiri!” Naegi half jogged over to her, a stack of papers clutched to his chest. “Byakuya wants you back over at headquarters, and that Sakura, Aoi, and I would take over the main investigation teams.” He awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck and then pointed at a black car rolling up to the scene. “He sent a car…” Kirigiri sighed as she stood up and brushed off her skirt. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Good luck Naegi,” She waved him off and walked towards the car, slightly annoyed. It was her first mission after getting back from out of state, and she was almost looking forward to going back to regular detective work in her home city. She opened the car door and greeted the driver, who offered a nod of the head before pulling away from the burnt apartment complex and starting the route back to headquarters. The forty minute ride was spent in silence as she stared out of the window and at the quickly moving scenery. The drivers voice interrupted her lull in thought as the company car came to a stop. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We’re here Miss.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Thanks,” she said as she opened the door and stood up. The car was driving away the moment the door closed behind her. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Kirigiri greeted Toko at the front desk, who only glared at her, but that wasn’t out of the ordinary. She made her way deeper into the building and to the elevator, pressing the ‘up’ button and stepping back. The door dinged open, and revealed the empty elevator. She stepped in and pressed the button that would take her to third floor-Byakuya’s office, and let the doors close behind her. </span>
  <em>
    <span>‘What could he possibly want that he wasn’t able to just text me?’ </span>
  </em>
  <span>Kirigiri thought exasperated as the door opened to an empty hallway. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She quickly schooled her face into her normal blank face and walked down the hall, eyes wandering across the name plates. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Maizono. Nevermind. Oogami. Fukawa. Kirigiri. </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Kirigiri stopped at the door directly to the right of hers. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Byakuya. </span>
  </em>
  <span>She knocked thrice in succession, and pushed the door open a little louder than necessary after hearing the voice inside calling her in. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Byakuya flinched at the noise, and then glared at her, shutting the book he was reading. “Good, you’re finally here.” He pushed his glasses up on his nose, “Took you long enough.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Sorry, the car can’t teleport.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Byakuya ignored her comment in favor of shoving a stack of files across the desk and towards Kirigiri. “Here. As much as I regret to inform you that I didn’t personally get to ruin your day, the higher ups called you back for this case.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Kirigiri didn’t respond as she picked up the papers and began flicking through them. She stopped at the first photo, a zoomed in picture from a low quality security camera. It was of a young woman with two twin drills and piercing red eyes looking up at the camera. “This is..” She trailed off, a chill running through her at the coldness of those red eyes. And the blood. Yeah, that was also a bit disturbing but nothing she’s not used to. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Celestia Ludenberg, a witch. She was spotted last night on a camera downtown around 3:20 am. We haven’t confirmed </span>
  <em>
    <span>who’s</span>
  </em>
  <span> blood that is, but it’s safe to assume it’s not her own. There were rumors of a gambling tournament the previous day, but we found no traces.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Kirigiri nodded and turned the page. “Maybe she didn’t get the money she was owed.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hm,” was Byakuya’s very thoughtful response. She finished skimming the details, storing away the important bits before shutting the file and tucking it under her arm. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m going out then, I don’t want any more interruptions.” Byakuya nodded curtly and Kirigiri took that as a dismissal, so she spun on her heel and headed back towards the elevator, flipping through the pages of the file again as she walked. </span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>- </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Kyouko stepped out of the company car pulled into a parking lot near where Celestia was last seen on the cameras, the forest to her back. She dropped her phone into her pocket, and looked out at the relatively empty scene. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>There were no obvious clues, but that was to be expected. She pulled out the photo of her target and started walking towards the fast-food joint, readying her police badge. Might as well ask around, that was her job after all. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The door chimed as she opened it, and instantly the smell of grease and chicken assaulted her nose, and she frowned slightly at the unpleasantness of it. There were a few customers scattered throughout the brightly lit restaurant. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“May I take your…” the cashier began, sentence falling off as his eyes slid to the badge held in front of him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Kyouko Kirigiri. Future Foundation.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The cashier blinked at her. “Can I help you?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She showed him the picture of Celestia. “Have you seen her around here?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He squinted at it before shaking his head. “Don’t think so, but it’s a little hard to keep track of everyone coming in and out. Let me ask Hagakure.” The man turned and shouted back into the kitchen. “Hagakure! Come here! Bring Teruteru and Chihiro!” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>There was a muffled shout and a moment later three others emerged from the kitchen. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What do you want Leon? I’m busy.” The shortest of the trio snapped. The cashier tilted his head towards Kirigiri with a shrug. “Oh, you’re pretty ma’am can I help you, maybe with undre-” the rest of his sentence was cut off by a slap to the back of the head, courtesy of..Chihiro, read the nametag. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Kirigiri held up her badge again. “Kyouko Kirigiri, Future Foundation.” She pointed at the picture sat on the counter. “Have you seen her?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Nope.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“ ‘Fraid not.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I wish.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Kirigiri sighed internally. “Is there anyone else working?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Leon nodded, jutting his thumb towards the bathroom. “Nekomaru. He’s been in there for a while though, so I wouldn’t expect seeing him soon. Everyone else here is fair game to interrogate.” He gestured at the customers. Kirigiri said her thanks and decided to start at the table on the far wall. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She came up with nothing, and when Nekomaru finally got out, he didn’t know anything either. As she left the establishment, Leon had a strange look in his eyes, almost smug. She shook it off as nothing for now, he seemed vaguely smug in general, but she was sure she was missing something, she just wasn’t sure what she missed. </span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Into The Woods</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Kyouko spent the rest of the day running around the city for leads, coming up empty handed every time. She finally called the car back as the sun began to set. </p><p>When she got back to her house and was winding down for the day, did she open her phone for the first time that day. There were 5 messages, all from Naegi. </p><p> </p><p>  <em>10:27 am </em></p><p>
  <em>Attachment: 1 image (black and white bear hairpin)</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Well I guess that solves who did it for us. </em>
</p><p><br/>
<em>     1:03 pm</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Byakuya wanted me to let you know your only assignment for the time being is the Celestia case.</em>
</p><p><br/>
<em>     3:48 pm </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Attachment: 1 image (Akane and Aoi holding donuts)</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Letting them have a donut competition was a mistake. </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>    11:06 pm </em>
</p><p><br/>
<em>Attachment: 1 image (instant ramen)</em>
</p><p>
  <em>What did you have for dinner? </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Sonia brought in Novescalian food, we saved you some</em>
</p><p>
  <em> It’s in the fridge for you if you want it. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>Thank you Naegi. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Did you manage to find any leads? </em>
</p><p>
  <em>Not really. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Oh. </em><br/>
<br/>
<em> I’m sure you’ll find something in no time! </em>
</p><p>
  <em>Thanks Naegi.</em>
</p><p>
  <em> I’ll be out of office tomorrow, tell Byakuya to try not to call me back again. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>Sure thing. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>Night Kirigiri :3</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Goodnight Makoto</em>
</p><p> </p><p><br/>
Kirigiri finished her food quickly and began her nightly routine, before curling up on the couch and reading through Celestia’s files again. There were a few older photos in there, and she couldn’t help but think about how captivating those eyes are. </p><p>She scowled at her thoughts. That’s a murderer and witch she’s talking about. She shut the file and sat it on the coffee table, and leaned back into the couch. The clock was the only noise in the house and Kirigiri allowed sleep to overtake her. </p><p>An alarm roused Kirigiri out of her sleep at exactly 7:30 am. She groaned as she turned it off, and stood up to stretch. She had a long day ahead of her. </p><p>The detective got dressed quickly, and was brushing her teeth when her phone rang. She fumbled with it for a moment, and sat it on the edge of the sink on speaker. </p><p>“Hey Kirigiri!” came Aoi’s familiar cheery voice. </p><p>“Good morning Aoi.”</p><p>“Good morning! We found something that might help you! Actually i’m not sure if it’ll help you but we found a body near where you were investigating yesterday. Poor guy was wrapped up in trashbags and in the dumpster.” </p><p>“Oh?”</p><p>“Yea, but it’s not too bad. He was a witch, so it’s one less witch we have to track down ourselves.” </p><p>“I suppose.”</p><p>“Anyways that’s all. I brought donuts to the office in case you want to stop by before you start your big investigation for the day.”</p><p>“Thanks Aoi.” </p><p> </p><p>She hung up the phone first. </p><p>So there was a body nearby. A witch too. Maybe it was whoever Celestia most likely murdered two nights ago. Aoi wasn’t very specific or detailed in her information if she didn’t have to be. </p><p>Which meant she had to stop by the office to see the body and if there was any information on him. </p><p>Kirigiri finished getting ready and opted to drive her own car today, and took the ten minute commute to work. No traffic slowed her down, so she arrived quickly and parked the car. </p><p>Aoi greeted her at the door, holding out a box of fresh donuts for her to grab one. “Come on, don’t be shy,” Aoi teased, nudging the box closer. Kirigiri sighed and grabbed a napkin to avoid ruining her gloves, gingerly taking a plain glazed donut. “That’s such a plain one Kirigiri…” Aoi huffed, shutting the box. Kirigiri only shrugged as she took a bite. </p><p>“Did you find anything on the body?” Kirigiri asked after she finished chewing. </p><p>“Hm? Oh! Yea, we found a slip of paper, it’s down in the lab if you want to go see it,”</p><p>“Ok, thank you Aoi.”</p><p>Kirigiri ate the donut as she walked towards the forensics lab, dropping the napkin in the trash can outside the door. She shoved open the door, and was greeted by a defeated looking Naegi.</p><p>“Oh, hey Kirigiri,” he waved and pointed at a piece of paper on the desk. “Nothing came up on it, no fingerprints, no Medeis, nothing.” Kirigiri nodded and grabbed the crinkled paper. Three things were scrawled across the paper. </p><p>
  <em>   12:30 am, block 6,2. Statue. </em>
</p><p><br/>
Kirigiri flipped it over. Nothing. </p><p>“Yeah, Sakura and Akane went out to block 6 downtown to see what they could find, they came back a bit ago. It’s just an empty lot, no statues.” </p><p>“Are there any statues downtown?” Kirigiri asked, setting the paper back down. She didn’t think there were any. </p><p>“Nope.” </p><p>“Fantastic.” </p><p>Kirigiri ran a gloved hand through her hair and looked at Naegi. “What sort of wounds did the body have?” </p><p>Naegi shuffled over to a stack of photographs and handed them over. Kirigiri looked at the top one, a full body view of the body. The rest of the photos were graphic close-ups. </p><p>“There was evidence of a struggle, defensive wounds on his hands, traces of Medeis on his clothes, stabbed once in the chest, and that thin and deep cut across his throat.” He looked a little queasy as he looked at the photos with Kirigiri. “Oh! That reminds me,” Naegi said, grabbing a plastic bag with a bloodied pack of playing cards in it. “It’s his blood.”</p><p>“So there probably was that gambling ring then. Are all the cards in there?”</p><p><br/>
“Actually, no. One is missing-the queen of hearts.” </p><p>“Strange.” Kirigiri commented, peering at the slit throat of the witch. </p><p>“You think?” Questioned Naegi, who was leaning over a table, head down. </p><p>Kirigiri nodded. “Yes, I think so.” </p><p><br/>
     -</p><p><br/>
The sun was bright in the sky when Kirigiri arrived back down town. She stayed behind at the office longer than she meant too, and that meant time wasted that she could have been working. </p><p>She started the investigation for the day by stopping at Block 6. Just as Naegi said, it was all an empty parking lot. There were no traces of Medeis or any statues. The only thing of interest was a raccoon. </p><p>For the next couple of hours, Kirigiri asked around a little out of her target zone, but still came up empty handed. There were absolutely no leads. Disheartened, she decided to stop by the fast food place from the other day and get a coffee or something. It would also give her a chance to sit down and sort through where she’s been and what’s left to investigate. </p><p>The same cashier was there, Leon if she remembered right. “Back again? Am I under arrest?” He laughed. “Anyways, are you here to order this time?” </p><p>“Yes, a black coffee.” </p><p>“One black coffee coming right up detective,” Leon said, punching in a few numbers. Kirigiri paid, taking her drink and bag to a secluded corner of the restaurant. She took a sip and decided it wasn’t the worst coffee there was. It was better than Gundhams poor attempts at making coffee. She’s still not sure how he managed to set it on fire the first time he used the coffee machine. </p><p>She set the drink on the side of the table, and spread a map of the downtown across the table, and pulled out a red pen. She crossed off the cafe, block 6, and most of the downtown. All that was left was a set of abandoned buildings, and the forest. She glanced out the window and at the sky. It’d be best to do the woods before it got dark. </p><p>Kirigiri downed the rest of the coffee, and folded the map back up. Leon waved as she left, and he had a strange smile on his face. Like he knew something that she didn’t. She can’t prove anything though ,not without more evidence,  and she could very well just be being paranoid. </p><p>The forest was close to the food joint, and was thick with trees. There was a biking path, but it didn’t extend far into the forest before exiting near a main road. Sending a quick text to Naegi to let him know where she was before she stepped into the expanse of trees. </p><p>She followed the path all the way around once, with no signs of Celestia. The second time she went in, she stepped off the path and further into the forest. It was calm at first, the quiet chirping of birds and rustling of squirrels following her, before an odd feeling overcame the detective. </p><p>A feeling of being watched. </p><p>Kirigiri had one hand on her gun as she slowly surveyed her surroundings, noting how the wildlife had gone silent.</p><p>No obvious signs of danger could be seen though, and she was confident that she could take down whoever it was. As long as they weren’t a witch, because then the chances of her surviving a fight alone drops dramatically. </p><p>Drawing her gun, Kirigiri continued into the forest, but now there wasn’t a sound minus her own footsteps in the quietness of the forest. The trees became denser the longer she walked, and the feeling of being watched followed her. She almost felt like prey being stalked by a hunter. Who the hunter was though, she wasn’t sure. </p><p>After what felt like ages, she stumbled upon a clearing with bright green grasses and purple flowers. Purple hyacinths to be exact. Kirigiri took a careful step forward, the feeling of being watched suddenly gone, eyes scanning the grasses, narrowing on a beheaded stone statue, vines and moss growing up it. </p><p>She wasn’t aware there was a statue down here. As far as she knew, this entire area was always thick forest. With a final glance around, she bent down to run her fingers across the statue, noticing how embedded it was in the ground, like it had been here for centuries. Kirigiri pulled out her phone, snapping a few pictures of it to print later. It’s strange no one had ever reported the statue before. </p><p>Kirigiri lifted her eyes to the stump of the neck, it’s head nowhere to be seen. Perhaps this was the statue that letter was referencing. There was no way to tell addresses in a field of flowers though. </p><p>Unless...did this statue lead underground? </p><p>As she began to run her hand along cracks in the stone and look for anything that might be some sort of opening, the atmosphere suddenly dropped. A wave of dread washed over Kirigiri as the feeling of being watched came back, heavier than before, like it was pressing in on all sides. </p><p>She wasn’t given a chance to react though, only halfway to her gun before a hand was in her hair, pulling back to expose her neck, something thin pressed against her jugular. </p><p>“Hello detective,” said a sickly sweet voice. </p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>attempted murder commences</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. First Encounters</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Merry Christmas if you celebrate! Here's a present for the holidays.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p><br/>“Hello detective,” said a sickly sweet voice. </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Kirigiri stilled, hand inches from her gun that she carelessly sat down. “Hello Celestia,” Kirigiri said calmly, the sharp edge pushing a little harder into her neck. Whatever her attacker had pressed to her jugular was too thin to be a normal blade, but the detective wasn’t quite sure what exactly it was yet. </p><p>“My, how odd it is to meet you here,” Celestia hummed, her fist knotted in Kirigiri’s hair pulled a little tighter. </p><p>“I could say the same thing,” Kirigiri snapped, fingers slowly inching towards the discarded gun, praying to whatever god existed that Celestia wouldn’t notice. God was not on her side however, as moments later a shiny red heel pressed into her fingers, hard. She winced as more pressure was applied. </p><p>“Now now detective, did you really think I wouldn’t notice that?” Celestia kicked the gun away, adjusting her grip on Kirigiri’s hair so she could walk around and crouch in front of her, skirt touching the grasses. She brought Kirigir’s face down to look at hers, red eyes staring into her purple ones with something akin to interest, sharp edge still steadily held against Kirigiri’s throat. </p><p>“First you stalk me, and then you plan to shoot me? How cruel.” Celestia continued, tapping the not quite a blade against Kirigiri’s neck. </p><p>Kirigiri’s breath hitched as Celestia stared at her, and with a start she realized that her target was really pretty. That was unfair. How was she supposed to kill her when her eyes were just so captivating? </p><p>Swallowing, Kirigiri shoved away her feelings and glared. “It can’t be any crueler than what you do.” </p><p>Celestia laughed lightly, before lowering her head. “You must think i’m a dreadful monster, yes?” </p><p>“Why wouldn’t I think what’s true?”</p><p>“I guess you’re right detective, always speaking the truth,” Celestia smiled, but it was more like an angry animal baring their teeth. The two sat locked in a standstill, staring at each other waiting for the other to make a move. Kirigiri flipped through possible ways to counter the witch in front of her, but they all seemed hopeless. The witch could easily slit her throat before she could try anything. </p><p>There was a rustle in a nearby bush, and maybe the gods were on Kirigiri’s side that day, as Celestia glanced over at the bushes, giving Kirigiri an opening to shove Celestia’s hands away and to jump back.</p><p>The witches eyes widened in shock, but they hardened into an angry glare quickly. She raised her hand, and Kirigiri realized with a start that a playing card was what was in place of a knife. Celestia snapped her wrist and the card came straight for Kirigiri. She hardly managed to dodge it, hearing it embed itself in the tree behind her. With another flick of the wrist, it was pulling itself out of the tree and back into the witches hand. </p><p>That’s going to be hard to avoid, Kirigiri thought, and what was worse was that she hadn’t grabbed her gun in her haste. She had a knife in her jacket but it was no match against magic so  she’d just have to grab it, but Celestia seemed to notice the fact that her hands were empty, and grinned. </p><p>“What’s wrong detective, can you not fight back?” Celestia taunted, sending the card out again, but her intent this time didn’t seem to be to kill, as the wind whipped Kirigiri’s hair as the card flew past, strands of hair now severed. </p><p>Kirigiri glared, and pulled out the knife, flicking it open. “Of course I can fight.” </p><p>“Oh?” Celestia said, tapping her sharp ring against her cheek. “With that?” </p><p>The detective didn’t answer, only flipping the blade to hold it correctly.  </p><p>“Alright detective, lets dance,” Celestia grinned, and suddenly the card was flying back towards Kirigiri, and this time it did not miss. </p><p>A flash of pain hit Kirigiri, and she realized that the card must have cut her cheek. She didn’t have time to deal with that right now though, and Celestia was closing in on her...She needed to get her gun, and her chances to get it looked slimmer and slimmer. </p><p>Kirigiri wasn’t bad at hand to hand combat though, as long as the witch didn’t use too magic..</p><p>Celestia’s card flew at her again, and as Kirigiri dodged it, Celestia had somehow produced an actual blade and had swung at the detective, and Kirigiri only managed to avoid the card. White hot pain registered as Kirigiri looked at her bloody arm, the knife hadn’t stuck though. </p><p>It’ll need stitches though, but Kirigiri didn’t have time to pay attention to it, and she bolted forward and slashed her own knife towards the witch, managing to graze her forehead. </p><p>Silver blood leaked from the cut on Celestia’s face and dripped down into her eyebrows. She reached up and wiped it, smearing the glittering blood across her face. </p><p>The two exchanged blows for a bit longer, Kirigiri narrowly avoiding the flying card and the knife, getting hit multiple times. However Celestia wasn’t in much better shape, as Kirigiri managed to slash her face a few more times, attack her arms, and had even landed a punch to her jaw. </p><p>Celestia stumbled a bit and held out her arm to direct her now bloody playing card, and Kirigiri took this moment to grab it and twist. Hard. Hard enough to hear something crack. </p><p>The witch gasped in pain and stumbled backwards, but not before slicing Kirigiri’s shoulder open, further staining her close in crimson. </p><p>As Kirigiri moved, her food bumped something. </p><p>Her gun. </p><p>She felt Celestia approaching behind her, no doubt seething and ready to slit her throat. </p><p>She had no doubt that even with a broken arm, Celestia could do immense damage. Why she wasn't using much magic though, alluded her, but she was grateful because it was much easier to counter attack. </p><p>Kirigiri slid, grabbing her gun, tightening her hand around it, before turning to the witch and pulling the trigger. She’s not quite sure how she missed at such close range, but she did graze Celestia’s cheek, coating her face in more silver blood. Celestia had halted, seemingly in shock at the noise, card centimeters from Kirigiri’s face. </p><p>The detective took advantage of the brief moment of confusion to twist her gun around and slam the butt of it between Celestia’s eyes. Celestia dropped to her knees, an angry light in her eyes. Blood dribbled down her face and mouth, and she raised her hand, most likely intending to do some sort of magic. </p><p>Instead, Kirigiri shoved her hand down and stepped on it, and forcefully shoved Celestia down onto the ground, one foot hard on her chest, the other on her left hand, paying little attention to the broken arm. It briefly crossed the detectives mind that Celestia looked kind of pretty like this. Ignoring that thought, Kirigiri raised her gun, pointing it between Celestia’s eyes, hardening her face into a look of perfected blankness. </p><p>“Are you going to kill me, detective?” Celestia smiled, blood dribbled from her mouth and nose, but she looked at the barrel of gun with eyes devoid of fear. “Because if so, I would like to know my killer's name, you know mine.”</p><p>Kirigiri glared at her, pressing more of her weight into her right foot, pressing Celestia down more. “Kirigiri.” </p><p>Celestia laughed lightly, eyes never leaving Kirigiri. “You’re being rather rude detective Kirigiri, are you really going to kill a lady like this?” </p><p>“You’re no lady,” Kirigiri spat. “You’re a witch, and witches don’t deserve the comfort of a pretty death.” </p><p>Celestia hummed, a serene smile crossing her face. “You’re right detective, I am a witch, I could kill you here and now.” </p><p>“I doubt it, it’s time for you to be put down like the animal you are,” Kirigiri hissed, aiming the gun between Celestia’s eyes. “Any last words?” </p><p>“Yes actually, how about a trade?”</p><p>“..A trade?” Kirigiri repeated slowly, confused. </p><p>“Yes, a trade. You’re looking for Junko Enoshima, correct?” </p><p>“..”</p><p>“You let me go, and i’ll tell you her current where-a-bouts.”</p><p>“Why should i trust you? You could just be trying to save your skin.”</p><p>“Hm I wonder. Ok, you have my word.”</p><p>“That’s not much.” </p><p>“Alright, well you can kill me, but then you won’t know what Junko’s going to target next.”</p><p>Kirigiri blinked. On one hand, killing her would eliminate a witch and a threat, but hearing her out could be very beneficial. Kirigiri pressed down on the witches hand as she thought, relishing a little more than she should at the wince it produced. </p><p>“Fine, i’ll hear you out, but be mindful of what you say,” Kirigiri tilted the gun, watching it catch the bit of light falling in from the trees, “I won’t hesitate to shoot.”</p><p>“I don’t doubt it,” Celestia laughed, but it devolved into a cough. “Can you get your boot off of me though? It’s a little hard to breathe.” </p><p>“No. You’ll manage,” Kirigiri said harshly, watching the witch for any sort of fowl play. </p><p>“How rude, fine.” The witch huffed in dismay, but tilted her head up at the detective. “What exactly do you wish to know?” </p><p>Kirigiri thought for a moment. “What do you know?” </p><p>Celestia smiled. “I know quite a lot actually, I know how to read, for example.” </p><p>“I’m not kidding, I will shoot you,” Kirigiri threatened, growing annoyed. Maybe it would be easier to just shoot her. </p><p>“Fine. Junko is planning to attack the mall by the town square next Tuesday with some of the Remnants around noon when it’s the busiest. Or at least that's the word being spread around so we know where to avoid.” Celestia blinked up at Kirigiri. “Is that all? Will you get your dirty boots off of me now, this dress was very expensive you know.” </p><p>The mall on Tuesday...Theres supposed to be some celebrity there on Tuesday around noon..oh no. They’d have to close the mall..but if what Celestia said was true than there was most likely a network between witches so they know what’s going on and word would no doubt get around that the mall was empty. If they kept everyone in the mall as planned it would be a perfect opportunity to try and capture some of the Remnants or Junko herself, but that would be using the civilians as bait and most likely would lead to many dead civilians. </p><p>“Hello? Detective get your disgusting boots off of me, I told you what you wanted to know, now get off me, you’re as heavy as a fat cow.” Kirigiri scowled down at Celestia, who stared impassively up. </p><p>“What Remnants are going to be there?” Kirigiri asked, hoping to pull as much information as possible from the witch why she was still down. </p><p>“You’re rather persistent aren’t you? Let me think…”</p><p>“Think quickly.” </p><p>Celestia huffed at that statement and stared at Kirigiri. “Being rude to the one giving you information isn’t very polite.” </p><p>“I don’t care, hurry up and speak, I don’t have forever.” </p><p>Celestia rolled her eyes. “I’m aware that the Remnant Fuyuhiko will be there, which means Pekoyama will most likely be there as well, but as for the others, I can’t say.” </p><p>Kirigiri rolled the information over in her head in silence before speaking. “How do I know you’re telling the truth?”</p><p>“I don’t lie to pretty women,” Celestia said simply, wheezing as Kirigiri put more pressure on her chest. </p><p>Kirigiri felt herself blushing at Celestia’s words, and to compensate she had pressed down on Celestia. “I’m flattered, but if I find out it was lie, i’m going to personally make sure your death is painful,” she grit out, roughly shoving herself off of Celestia. </p><p>Celestia coughed as she sat up, wiping the blood from her face and staining her hands in thick silver, and raised her eyes to meet the gun still pointed at her. </p><p>“When I see you next, there will be no mercy.”</p><p>“Likewise detective Kirigiri.” </p><p>Celestia gracefully stood up, and with a mocking bow, she snapped her fingers and the area around her began to fill with a cloud like purple fog. Kirigiri gripped her gun tighter as she scanned the spreading fog for any movement. It most likely was just a cover for the witch to leave, or else a disappearing trick would be useful when Kirigiri had finally pinned her to the ground, but it never hurt to be vigilant. </p><p>After a minute, the fog began to clear, and Celestia was gone without a trace. Of course, if Kirigiri really investigated the area she was sure she could find some inkling of where the witch disappeared to, but quite frankly, she couldn’t bring herself to care. She had just survived a face to face with a witch, and managed to get her hands on valuable information that could save hundreds of lives. Or, it would if it was true, that is. </p><p>Kirigiri shook her head as she turned back the direction she came, casting one last glance at the old statue. She’d love to investigate it more, but she had things to report, and she would rather not encounter any more witches if possible for the day. </p><p>As Kirigiri found the path again and began to make her way back to the road, she tried to think what exactly to tell HQ on why she let Celestia go and why she knows Junko’s supposed next attack. </p><p>And how to get out of the woods covered in blood without someone calling the cops on her.  </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Celestia is harder to write than I thought, but nonetheless I finished chapter three</p>
        </blockquote><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I hope you enjoyed !</p></blockquote></div></div>
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